Griezmann scores twice as Atletico wins Europa League final

Updated 9:55 pm, Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Striker Antoine Griezmann scored two goals as Atletico Madrid beat Marseille 3-0 in Lyon, France, on Wednesday to win the Europa League for the third time.

Marseille was going for a second European trophy, 25 years after winning the more coveted Champions League, but had no answer to the mobility and finishing of Griezmann, a French national. Captain Gabi capped off the victory with a fine finish in the last minute after being set up by Koke.

“It’s more than about winning the Europa League tonight, it’s about more than a trophy,” Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said. “It represents the value of hard work, a steady hand and consistency, values to be successful in life. Keeping at it, keep working hard and it will bear fruit.”

Several of Marseille’s players were in tears after the final whistle, undone by a player who was turned down by several French clubs when he was a youth because of his diminutive stature.

“This is a reward for me after I left home aged 14, for all the work I have put in, the suffering,” Griezmann said. “There has been joy and sadness, but I am so happy and I hope to be able to live moments like this again.”

Photo: Franck Fife / AFP / Getty Images

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Antoine Griezmann gives his daughter a victory kiss.

Antoine Griezmann gives his daughter a victory kiss.

Photo: Franck Fife / AFP / Getty Images

Griezmann scores twice as Atletico wins Europa League final

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Griezmann scored in the 21st minute, putting the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal after being set up by midfielder Gabi’s pass. Marseille’s woeful defending contributed, as midfielder Zambo Anguissa failed to control a pass out from goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and the loose ball bounced to Gabi.

Moments after Griezmann’s opener, Marseille fans were given a warning over the public address system to stop letting off flares and firecrackers or the game would be stopped. They carried on anyway, and so did the game, with sections of the stadium cloaked in thick pyrotechnic smoke.

Griezmann started and finished the move for his second goal, four minutes into the second half. He won a high ball in midfield and quickly swapped passes with Koke before gliding into the penalty area unchallenged and clipping the ball over the onrushing Mandanda.

Griezmann celebrated both goals with an energetic celebratory dance from popular video game Fortnite, although he couldn’t do it as well the second time around as he was quickly mobbed by teammates.

Earthquakes earn tie: Danny Hoesen scored in extra time in the first half and Nick Lima added a goal in the 53rd minute as San Jose battled to a 2-2 draw with host Vancouver.

Yordy Reyna had a goal and an assist for the Whitecaps.

The Earthquakes, by earning a point, moved out of last place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference.

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